Item checking device



Feb. 28, 1950 A D OLSON ET AL 2,498,703

ITEM CHECKING DEVICE Filed Jan. 2, 1947 /z// Y Q /4 Z /4 y/7 A 25 -.1 E RN z Q zf Q Patented Feb. 2'8, A195i() ITEM CHECKING DEVICE YAbraham D. Olson, Osborn, Ohio, and Isaac A. Morris, Clifton Springs, N. Y.

Application'January 2, 1947, Serial No. 719,646

6 Claims. (Cl. 116-128) (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without payment to us of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to a device which is more particularly adapted for use in connection with army aircraft, for supporting a check list and for indicating the items enumerated on said list which have already been attendedto or accomplished and which items remain non-accomplished.

At the present time all army aircraft are required to have check lists placed at all important crew stations, such as the pilot, eo-pilot and engineer. These so-called check lists, as their name implies, are simply a piece of paper or a card having thereon listed the items that are to be checked and being hung adjacent to the station for which intended.

Such a check list system as formerly in use is unsatisfactory for several reasons:

(a) Crew members do not follow the lists because each man uses his own sequence in checking the various items and the lists are not adaptable to each individual system, thus resulting in crew members skipping some items as they proceed in their check and then forgetting to come back and accomplish the same.

(b) Check lists are usually hung up in the airplane, sometimes insecurely, and thus they become detached and lost.

(c) Check lists, rather than containing items which involve the safety and eiciency of the airplane, have actually become short guides on the manner of ying the airplane, and have therefore lost their importance.

It is an essential object of our present invention to provide a novel'device for securely supporting a check list and for readily checking the items enumerated on said list, which device is especially adapted for use in conjunction with aircraft, whereby one can easily and quickly check or indicate each item involved as having been attended to or accomplished, just as soon as that is done, and show that clearly, in order to avoid any chance of skipping any one of such items.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a checking device arranged for use in an airplane, which device is readily. operable and whereby the mechanism that indicates which of the items are accomplished and which are not accomplished is at all times clearly shown, so as to provide a clear visual picture of what has already been done and what is yet to be done.

Theseand various other objects and advantages amended April 30, 1928; 370 O. G. 757) are attained with this invention, as will become apparent from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein the invention is shown in its preferred form, it being evident that other arrangements and forms of construction may be resorted to for carrying out the objects and purposes of this invention.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a plan view showing the item checking device in a preferred form of construction.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view thereof, taken substantially on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.l

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the lever construction.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of this device showing the registering openings which form the pocket for retaining the lever in its tilted posiion.

This novel item checking device is arranged substantially inl the form of a check list board which comprises a support I I and a set of levers I2 that are tiltably mounted thereon by means that functions with a snap-action, so as to be readily operable and at the same time to be held firmly in position, in order to adapt this device particularly for use in checking the requisite items in preparation for an airplane night.

This support II is preferably built up from a back panel or cover I3 and a front panel o1' cover I4 which have spacing strips mounted therebetween, said strips includinga pair of spacing bars I5 and I6 between the two opposite side parts of the panels and also on end strip I1 placed between the lower ends of the panels and the plates. This provides a pocket or recess I8 between the two panels and the three strips, said pocket being open at the upper end, opposite said end strip l'l, adapted to receive and hold therein a check list I9 which bears on its spaced lines 20 the set of items that are to be checked. A pair of plates 2I and 22 are mounted on the two opposite side parts of the front panel I4, above thebars or strips I5 and I6, respectively, and these panels and plates and strips are secured firmly together, by rivets 23 or other suitable means.

The back panel I3 and the plates 2| and 22 positionedA upon the front panel are preferably of metal, while said front panel I4 is of transparent material, as Plexiglas or glass, so that the items enumerated on the check list I9, located in the recess I8 behind said transparent panel I4, can be readily seen. The strips I5, I6, and

I7 are of light material suitable for this spacing purpose, such as cardboard for example.

A series of pockets 24 are provided on the support Il for mounting the levers l2 therein to be tiltable laterally of the board, each lever` being adjacent to and in line with one of the items sety forth on a line 28 on said check list I 9, as best shown in Fig. 1. These pockets are preferably provided by constructing a set or series of oblong apertures 25 elongated laterallyof the plate 2|, also a long slot 25 extending longitudinally along the side part of panel i4 and located beneath said apertures, and a set of rectangular apertures or openingsy 2 provided in bar l5, being positioned beneathA and..

registering with said slot 25 and said aperture 25, whereby the back panel i3 forms the bottom of each pocket Zf, as best seen in Fig. 2. The aperture 25 is smaller than the opening 21, or the slot 2S, thus providing a restricted aperture or outlet on the pocket.

The lever l2 preferably consists of a stern or shank 28, which has holding means 2B on, its inner end, preferably inthe form of an annular boss. or shoulder, said shoulder being positioned in the pocket. 24. and being larger than the aperture 2.5v to prevent removal of the lever, while the stem 28 extends through and above said. aperture and is tiltable laterally therein. A plunger 3l is sldably mounted in a. bore 32 in the stem 28 and has its outward end protruding below the stem, and al spring 33. in said bore presses. on the stem and constantly. urges it resiliently out.- wardly to bear against the pocket Wall. Holes 34 are provided in the support for receiving. bolts or the like to hang up thisr check list board in the appropriate place in the airplane.,

O ur disclosed construction and arrangement of the support and of the levers furnishes each lel/Telf with al snap-action wherein thev springpressed plunger 3l aided by the retaining shoulder 29A onthe stein, serves. to press. the. plunger against the back panel at the bottom of the pocket, while the shoulder bears, against the top, and the bottom walls of the pocket, thereby holding the lever rmly in its set position, tilted either toward the right-handelde of the support and toward the vparticular iternv set, forth., n the list, to show that the item has been accomplished, or similarly tilted away from the item, to show that it is non-accomplished and still. awaits,v attention. rl`his lever is at the saine time quickly and easily actuated by the mere motion and pressure of a finger thereon in the appropriate direction.

The check list board can be readily hung, up in an airplane, and at rst the levers are, all tilted toy their inactive positionY away from the, items as the pilot starts preparing the ship, for night., andas he accomplishes certain actions which. are enumerated on this list, the corresponding lever is easily actuated dueto its snap-.action to show thatl the item has been accomplished. This form of device with these levers thus provides a readily observable visual picture of' whatV items are accomplished and what items are non-accomplished and still require attention.

We claim:

1 An item checking device comprising a supporting board including a rear panel-and a trans-n parent front panel, parallel spacing strips between said panels to space them apart and provide a recess therebetween for holding an item check list therein, one off` said spacing strips havingy elongated parallel openings, therein,

each opening in registering alignment with an item on the check list, a cover panel in front of the last mentioned spacing strip having elongated parallel apertures therein which are shorter and narrower than the elongated openings in the spacing strip and in centralized registration with the strip openings to provide a series of elongated parallel item checking lever `receiving pockets with restricted outlets, a

Vseries of item checking levers, each freely disposed inV one of the pockets and having a stem handle projecting through the restricted outlet of the pocket and a stop-shoulder adjacent its inner endinside of the pocket and bearing against the back oi said cover panel to retain the checking lever rockable in the pocket, spring pressed plunger detent means projecting from the` inner ends of the checking levers toward the bottoms of the pockets to resiliently and sldably engage the same, yieldably retaining the checking4 levers. in tilted position with their stem p0rtions pointed either toward or away from the check list items.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim l, in which the stop-shoulder surrounds the end oi the checking lever and inclines outwardly and downwardly toward the inner end of the checking lever.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2` inv which the detent means includes av cylindrical guide bore extending into the'inner end of the checking lever toward the sternv handle and the plunger, is cylindrical and sldably guided in the guide bore with a taperedI extremity engaging the bottom ci the recess and includes a coil spring within the bore engaging the plunger to yieldably force` the plunger outwardly engaging the'tapered extremity against the bottoml of the recess, and to engage the incline surrounding shoulder lof the checking lever against thel cover panel atV the periphery of the elongated opening therein which forms the restricted opening to the pocket.

4. Inan indicating device of the class described, a back panel, an elongated spacing strip extending across the ront face of the back panel, said elongated spacing strip having a plurality of transverse parallel elongated openings extending therethrough to the back panel to form elongatedparallel pockets with the back panel having parallel side walls, a iront cover panel -covering the spacing strip having a plurality ortransverse, spaced, parallel elongated openings therethrough oi shorter and narrower dimensions than the transverse openings in the spacing strip and disposed in centralized` registration with the spacing strip openings, indicating levers rockably disposed in the openings having handles projectingoutwardly therefrom through the front panel openings, each indicating lever having a width in the front panel opening slightly less than the width of this opening anda width within the pocket greater than the front panel opening andV formed with a longitudinal guide bore extending into its inner endend opening, toward'the back panel, a plunger sliclable in the guide bore having a taperedextremity facing and engaging the back panel, andi spring means in the bore of the lever yieldably urging,v the plunger outwardly against the backY panel at the bottom of the pocket.

5,. In .an indicating device of the class described, an indicating board having a back panel, an elongated iront cover panel extending along the front face 0.1": the back panel adjacent one edge thereof, spacing strip means between the front and back panels spacing thev panels in parallel relation., said. front. panel and said. spacing. strip means having a plurality of spaced parallel elongated openings formed therein to form recesses,

each recess having fan elongated restricted outlet annular incline stop flange surrounding the lever between the restricted opening and the bottom of;

the recess to restrict outward movement of the lever through the restricted opening, said inner portion inclining outwardly toward the bottom of the recess and formed with a guide bore extending inwardly away from the bottom of the recess, a plunger slidable in said guide bore having a tapered outer extremity for engagement with the guide bore engaging the plunger to yieldably force the same outwardly against the bottom of the recess.

6. In an item checking device of the class described, a back panel having means thereon for supporting a list of items to be checked, a front cover panel, an elongated spacing strip means extending along the front of the back panel adjacent one edge thereof to space the front panel from the back panel, said front panel and spacing strip having elongated parallel registering openings formed therein each extending in alignment with an item on the aforesaid item list, the said elongated parallel openings in the front panel 20 bottom of the recess, and spring means in said being shorter and narrower than the registering elongated openings in the spacing strip means,

and the openings in the spacing strip means extending therethrough from the front panel to the back panel and having parallel side walls perpendicular to the back panel, an indicatingl lever freely positioned and rockable in each of said registering openings having an annular surrounding shoulder between the front panel openings -and the base panel and an outer cylindrical handle stem portion projecting through the front panel openings with a diameter slightly less than the width o-f the elongated front panel openings and an inner end portion facing the back panel and terminating in spaced relation to the back panel, said inner end portion being formed with a guide passage therein, a plunger slidable in said guide passage having an outer tapered carnming extremity engaging the back panel, and spring means Within said guide passage engaging the plunger, forcing the same outwardly against the back panel, to yieldably retain the indicating levers tilted in the openings in the front panel and said spacing strip means.

ABRAHAM D. OLSON. ISAAC A. MORRIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,089,294 Pettigrew Aug. 10, 1937 2,099,587 Allen Nov. 16, i937 2,230,482 Butler Feb. 4, 1941 2,423,938 Johansson July 15, 1947 

